SAMMAMISH _ An aggressive passing attack and missed

opportunities by Mount Si helped propel the Skyline Spartans over the Wildcats

last Friday, 42-7.

With the loss, Mount Si’s record dropped to 0-2 in KingCo 3A play.

The Wildcats had 234 yards of total offense, managing just 62 on

the ground. Quarterback Jon Odom had 121 yards in the air, and running

back Mike Dollinter had 28 rushing yards.

The No.2-ranked Spartans rolled up 339 yards of total offense, 220

of which was through the air by Skyline quarterback Mitch Browne, who

connected on three touchdown passes.

The Wildcat offense was hampered by the speed of the Skyline

defense, which picked off a lateral pass early in the first quarter and ran it back

25 yards to the end zone.

On Monday, coach Charlie Kinnune said that watching Skyline

on videotape showed how good the Spartans were.

“That’s an outstanding team,” he said, adding if Mount Si was to

play Skyline 10 times, the Spartans might win all 10 games.

“They’re just that much better than we are at this point in the season,”

he said.

During the Wildcats’ second possession, place kicker and wide

receiver Brent Bergstrom missed a 44-yard field-goal try, and Skyline took the

ball 80 yards. Browne hit Andrew Taylor in the end zone with a 24-yard

pass, and after the failed point-after attempt, the score was 6-0.

A few plays later, Spartan linebacker Kyle Snell picked up a

tailback swing pass from Logan Ratcliffe to Dollinter that was loose on the

ground and ran it to the end zone. The subsequent two-point conversion made

the score 14-0, and Skyline never looked back.

The Spartans struck again soon after start of second quarter,

with Browne floating a pass 7 yards to the right half of the end zone, which

was caught by Nick McCalmont. With the PAT, the score was 21-0.

After a Mount Si fumble, Browne again looked for the end zone, but

had his pass picked off by Ratcliffe. The Wildcats drove to midfield, but

with 5:27 left in the second quarter on third and 9, Ratcliffe was hit as he

attempted a pass. A Mount Si lineman caught the ball, which was ruled an illegal

catch, and the Wildcats were forced to punt.

Mount Si got the ball back with 2:42 left in the first half after the

Spartans failed to connect on a fourth-down pass attempt.

With the help of a pass-interference call on Skyline, the

Wildcats drove down to the 6-yard line of the Spartans. Following an

incomplete pass and a run by Ratcliffe that lost a yard, Mount Si stared at a fourth

and goal with less than 30 seconds to go in the half.

After looking to pass, Ratcliffe cradled the ball and ran to the 3,

where he was tackled. Browne took a knee after that, bringing the half to a close.

“That’s a gamble that you go with,” Kinnune said about the

fourth-down call. “We spread it out a little bit and ran a little sprint-out.” He

said the receivers were covered, which forced Ratcliffe to hold onto the ball.

The Spartans added six more points at the 7:33 mark in the

third quarter with a 17-yard run by Bret Stray, and with the PAT the score

was 28-0.

After a three-and-out series by Mount Si, Browne connected

with Bryan Swanson on third and 3. Swanson broke a tackle and ran it

39 yards to the end zone with 4:55 left in the third quarter.

The Wildcats were again forced to punt, and seconds into the fourth

quarter, Skyline’s Simi Reynolds shed some Mount Si tacklers and ran

23 yards for the team’s sixth and final touchdown.

Despite the score, the Wildcats rallied and drove the ball down to

the Skyline 1-yard line, where the team faced another fourth down

quarterback Jon Odom snuck into the end zone on the keeper. Bergstrom’s PAT

was good, and the Wildcats were on the scoreboard with 3:12 left in the

fourth quarter.

Kinnune said one thing that hampered his team was getting away

from what it is familiar with. With a larger offensive line than in years past,

he said Mount Si became too predictable in its first two games by trying

to pound the ball down the field. The team has worked this week on

getting back to a more traditional Mount Si gameplan.

“We’re kind of going back to an offense that we, as coaches, feel

more comfortable with,” he said of a more spread-out offensive attack that

looks to take chances. “We need to kind of return to our roots.”

And the team will need every weapon possible against the

2-0 Interlake Saints.

“Our conference is extremely difficult,” Kinnune said. “It doesn’t

get any easier.”

Mount Si will host Interlake starting at 7:30 p.m., Friday.